We’re pseudo-on premises. Our parent company has a data-center in Georgia (the US one, not the Russian one). but our facilities are in PA, TX, OK, and CO.
The APP and DB servers are virtualized. Most users run via TS. Only a few users run the client on their local machine.
We’re really small (only 15 seats), so doubt we’d see much performance difference based on the data-center’s physical hardware.
All things being equal you should not need a new server hardware. That being said, I have seen issues using 10.0 and 10.2 (app) on the same server, same admin console, which prompted me to build new servers (VMs) for 10.2. I would recommend this track. At the very least a new Appserver will keep your environments separate. Azure has nothing to do with it unless you lack the resources to deploy in-house, and it would increase your reliance on external communications. IE redundant WAN connections and increased bandwidth requirements.
Probably a safe bet, they’re pushing an upgrade when you may not really need one. Sure, the system specs may not be up to Epicor’s hardware spec but it’s not that far behind. As others have said, if you’re running well on 10.0 then 10.2 should perform as well and at least worth a shot before sinking money into new hardware.
As per the 10.2.400 New Install Guide pp13
Windows Server 2008 R2 with SQL Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2012 with SQL 2012
Windows Server 2012 R2 with Sql 2014, 2016 or 2017
Windows Server 2016 with SQL Server 2016 or 2017
Windows Server 2019 with SQL Server 2016 or 2017
our production server for Epicor is in Azure… has been for a couple years now. Works ok for the most part, I’ve had on prem servers that perform better, and ISP LOS can be a killer depending on your service area. We have an AZURE DC and syncs with an on prem DC and that works well.
We are still implementing on 10.1.600…We do have a one issue with our PDT results at the moment, with regards to the SQL query test. where the time is 4850ms when then pass value is 3500 I recall. I believe part of the reason is our SQL box is on a separate subnet. Still trying to get that worked out.
With 15 concurrent users I would have thought you could get away with SQL and App on the same box. Of course review the hardware sizing guide. and as @askulte mentioned the PDT is your friend, at least to ensure that your machine is configured correctly and you can baseline. The Tuning guide and Sizing guide are a pretty good places to start when you are looking at these things.
Switching to Epicor’s SaaS hosting has alot of downsides so be careful. There are many critical settings, access to functions etc, that they lock you out of that forces you exclusively into their ecosystem of supported products.
For example, just found out the new REST Odata drivers are incompatible with many applications, including Excel, unless you turn off the new requirement to use an API-Key. Except that when epicor hosts your system, they will not allow you to change any configuration file settings which is the only way to disable the api-key requirement…
Heads up, you can build a hell of a server with the same warranty as a new one from someplace like serverMonkey. The only thing you have to really get an extra grasp on is things like Cals. Essentially every computer accessing the server will require a cal. Every manufacture offers a 50 device cal pack you can get.